For some years, branding has been viewed as a nice addition to your business arsenal rather than a must-have. Those who lack insight see it as the leather seats in their new car rather than any of the integral parts. Whilst those in the know chuckled with glee as their businesses developed incredible branding strategies that last the test of time. Just for some insight, think of Apple, without the Apple! Without the glitz and glam, the religious style ceremonies for new releases, and pretty much everything that screams Apple.
However, as the sector has changed, as too has the perception of branding. Businesses began to realise that a positive and well-constructed brand strategy could solve countless problems, and at that moment, we rejoiced.
In this blog, we wanted to look at some of the common business problems your company can solve using your brand strategy. So, let’s talk about brand!
Employee morale
One of our favourite modern business phenomena is what is commonly known as employer branding. It has been well documented that having employees who don’t engage with your brand can hurt your business both internally and externally. When you start to think about your employees’ day-to-day mentality and morale, can you genuinely say that they are happy? If you can’t, it may be time to worry.
Knowing your staff is essential for your business; they are the heart and soul of everything great you do. Employees who want to come to work every day are more productive and enjoy their job significantly more.
Employer branding works both ways – to invigorate your employees, you must make sure they know all about your business. We don’t just mean sales figures and the products you sell. We mean the reasons behind the company, where you see the future and how their involvement will influence that journey.
The brand gap and perception
When your customer’s perception of your business doesn’t align with your own, this is known as the ‘brand gap’. Addressing the brand gap is essential to success, as the difference in perceptions can cause confusion around your brand.
Brand perception influences everything about your business, from who’s likely to buy your products or services to the number of stores and shops that will stock your products. If you are waiting on Asda picking up your new health product, but your potential audience views it as unhealthy, you aren’t going to make it onto those shelves.
There are plenty of ways to acknowledge if this is happening, for example, if your customer demographic varies significantly from what you had planned or imagined. But, be positive because this is 100% correctable.
For a strong brand strategy, you need to address your current perception and aims and change them as quickly as possible. Using consumer research, you should be able to assess what people think of your brand and then work on your brand message to alter the current perception.
For example, relating to the health product analogy above, messages aimed at those who exercise regularly will shift perception back onto the right path. Maybe aligning your business with a sports team with sponsorship or reaching out to gyms to stock your products? Bounce some ideas around and find one that fits you.
Accelerating business growth
The desire to accelerate the growth of your business sounds like an obvious thing to say. Who doesn’t want to be the best of the best? But in some business circumstances, accelerated growth means much more than just bringing profit through the door. For example, if you’ve just taken on some critical investors, accelerated business growth may be one of the terms on which the investment relies.
In the case of newly formed businesses, brand strategy is integral to accelerate growth. Your brand strategy will keep your business on track. Clear and concise messaging will instantly connect with new customers and help them side with your business as quickly as possible. Your brand strategy also helps your company think about itself as it continues to grow, addressing any problems that may appear and ensuring that your brand ethos doesn’t rotate solely around profit.
Reinventing yourself
Possibly one of the most challenging problems in business is the death of a sector or industry. The truth is this can happen at any time, especially if your company has traditionally produced a ‘FAD’ product.
Take the Selfie Stick, for example, you may see the occasional one or two whilst wandering the streets in a major city, but they are pretty much as extinct as the dinosaurs. However, just because the product you produce isn’t needed anymore doesn’t mean all is lost.
It takes a courageous company to rise against this, those who challenge convention often place themselves in the best position to capitalise on the problems faced by the sector. You should address the way you’ve behaved up to this point. If your previous tone of voice or style of conduct doesn’t suit the solution you are providing, it’s time to find a new one.
Revisiting your brand strategy and reaching out to your potential customer field will be critical if your reinvention is going to work. Changing the way you think and act can mean tweaking the way you view the company.
Altering the approach doesn’t mean you have to rip your brand strategy to pieces; it means reinvigorating it to suit a new audience. It’s likely that you’ll still have the same motives and passions behind your venture into the business world. Keep that in mind; in fact, keep YOU in mind.
Branding and us
As a specialist branding agency based in Manchester, we’ve got industry and integrity at our heart. We strive to reinvigorate businesses by providing entirely bespoke branding packages. We tailor our work to every aspect of your business and apply thought-provoking solutions to sector problems. If anything you have read in this blog interests you or want to discuss how we may help develop your brand, reach out to us today.
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
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